Arsenal show extra class

Chelsea 1, Arsenal 1

There was no love lost between the clubs described by Emmanuel Petit as his current amour and ex-wife as Chelsea survived the controversial dismissal of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to earn a point against Arsenal.

After Thierry Henry put Arsenal ahead on 16 minutes, it was Hasselbaink who equalised from the penalty spot after Martin Keown had been deemed to bring down Gianfranco Zola.

But while Arsenal contested that decision, Hasselbaink was absolutely livid at being sent off with 20 minutes left for then supposedly elbowing Keown around the face.

Hasselbaink was certainly flailing his arms about as he tussled for the ball, but there seemed little immediate reason for the England defender to hit the ground with such force.

Reduced to 10 men, but inspired by Marcel Desailly, Chelsea at least held on for a point - an improvement on their last two home games against Arsenal, when they have twice led 2-0, but drawn 2-2 and lost 3-2.

However, it was Arsenal who showed the extra class in a frantic encounter even without Petit's former midfield partner at Highbury, Patrick Vieira, who was suspended.

With Chelsea's new-look midfield - including Petit - inevitably needing time to adjust to each other, the Gunners had quickly stamped their authority on the game.

After Chelsea had needlessly conceded possession, Sylvain Wiltord and Lauren combined well on the right flank before Robert Pires, who had lost his marker, fired in a shot as he burst into the box.

Keeper Ed de Goey was only able to parry the ball and it fell straight to Henry, standing unmarked 10 yards out from goal, for him to sweep his shot into the net after a neat first touch.

It was almost 2-0 soon afterwards when Desailly's back-header fell short and Wiltord lobbed the ball over de Goey, only for Graeme Le Saux to race back and clear the ball off the line.

Arsenal looked to have that extra degree of class, especially on the break, while Chelsea were committing far too many errors as possession slipped through their fingers.

However, they were still back in the game on the half-hour, when Keown - recalled to replace Sol Campbell - was deemed to have brought down Zola.

The Italian is hardly a diver, but it would be safe to say that while he did fall over Keown's leg, the contact was not immense.

A tricky decision, but referee Mike Riley pointed to the spot and Hasselbaink converted the penalty without any fuss.

Chelsea were inevitably given a confidence boost and while de Goey needed to be alert to keep out a deflected header by Bergkamp just after the break, the home side came again in a frantic second period.

Boudewijn Zenden blasted one shot wildly off target, while de Goey pulled off a superb one-

handed save to deny Ashley Cole at the other end.

The real controversy came on 70 minutes when Hasselbaink was dismissed, but Chelsea still came agonisingly close to a goal soon afterwards when Frank Lampard slid in only to miss William Gallas' cross-shot by inches.

The late chances all went to Arsenal as Kanu had one effort saved by de Goey and saw another deflected wide, while substitute Fredrik Ljungberg also spurned a fine opening.

Chelsea did well to hold on, but this was still yet another of those days when Manchester United's rivals cancelled each other and continued to leave the path to the Premiership title wide open.